should the GAA allow soccer to be played in croke park?

fisifan01

what do you think?

mike65

As footie fans have had thier tax euros used to build it and in the absence of the Bertie Bowl, yes.

Maybe if the Irish team all dressed up as Neil Diamond roadies...

Mike.

Xterminator

The way i see it, its not right to allow other sports in Croke Park, but to single out Soccer as a 'competetor' sport, or a 'foreign' sport and ban it.

I understand the GAA have worked hard to get into the position to have good stadia around the country. But the argument tha FAI have pissed away there resources doesn't hold weight, when you consider the expenses the FAI have eg Professional Players, International Match Costs, World Cup Camp costs. (Tho im sure the inept bast*rds aty merrion square could have done better with what they had!)

Also there has been some glimps of how the FAI have been treated less than equally by RTE when it came to television revenue etc.

Now Croke Park is a very expensive place to maintain, and the moneys GAA could get by allowing a sensible no. of non GAA events here would allow more of the GAA's money to be spent elsewhere. Thus everyone being satisified.

Finally I think the majority of Irish people want to see soccer in Croke Park, as do the majority of 'supporters' (who contrary to what the out of touch GAA hirerachy think, are also Ireland supporters too!)!

There is more to this than just FAI vs GAA etc. There is the national interest too. So if they cant/wont do it for thenmselves, do it for Ireland!

X

Thanx 4 The Fish

Yes, either that or the government should stop doling out £20m grants to the GAA.

xern

i reckon any sport should be played in croke park. shure did'nt they have american football in it a fue years ago!

flyz

Yes they should allow international soccer to be played in Croke Park.

But before that they should be allowing Camogie and Ladies Football to be played there too. At the momcent it's only that Senior All Ireland Intercounty of both sports that's played there

thegills

Surely the size of the pitch and the low crowds would make it unfeasible to play camogie and Ladies football at Croker. I was at yesterdays game and I thought to myself that it would be magnificent to watch the Euro2008 final there, with the hardcore Irish supporters in the Hill

ReefBreak

Yes, either that or the government should stop doling out £20m grants to the GAA.

As footie fans have had thier tax euros used to build it and in the absence of the Bertie Bowl, yes.

i reckon any sport should be played in croke park. shure did'nt they have american football in it a fue years ago!

For fúcks sake, this has been debated at length on ths board about a million times. The arguments haven't changed.

First: You can get a grant to build all sorts of stuff in Ireland.
If you get a new home-owners grant, does that mean you have to let in all other tax-payers in the country into your gaff? Second: US Football was allowed into Corker because it isn't in direct competition with Gah - it's a simple business decision. Would Apple allow Microsoft to use it's facilities?

On the other hand, the Gah could make a lot of money by renting Croker out to the FAI. People are gonna watch soccer no matter where it's played, so the Gah could just go for it and use the money it makes to promote GAA around the country. Again, it's just a business decision.

However, When you have moaning and whinging soccer heads (who know nothing about sports beyond what they see on Sky down at the local pub), jealously complaining about how soccer isn't allowed in Croker, is it any wonder the Gah tell them to feck-off-out-of-it.

In fairness, the FAI have done the least moaning (they just want their own stadium) - the loudest complaining has come from the clueless armchair Mirror-reading types.

Yes they should allow international soccer to be played in Croke Park.
But before that they should be allowing Camogie and Ladies Football to be played there too. At the momcent it's only that Senior All Ireland Intercounty of both sports that's played there

Most soccer muppets harpin' on about Croker know fúck-all about Gah and you seem to be no different... They do play camogie and ladies football in Croker. They've played everything from u-12 primary schools and up in Croke Park.

There is the national interest too. So if they cant/wont do it for thenmselves, do it for Ireland!

Oh please, get a grip on reality.

Morpheus

Oh for feck sake, feckl off u big GAH head. Of course there should be bloody soccer played, how in the name of Jasus is soccer in competition with GAA, OBVIOUSLY GAA is there because croker is its home. BUT its only fair that if i paid for it to be built, that i have the option of watching whatever the f*ck i want to watch.

I love soccer, i love GAA, i play BOTH, and believe both can live in harmony in Corke Park with GAA getting precedence on fixtures (bertie bowl will cause us nothing but tax nightmares) so here... (_!_) ....kiss my arse then go read the poll, and please... shove your opinions about (quote[Soccer muppets]) knowing nothing other than the (wouldnt use it to wipe my arse) mirror or (fair play to them for offering more cash to the FAI than that RTE shower of tightwads) Sky down the pub, up your OWN arse.

ReefBreak

Oh for feck sake, feckl off u big GAH head. Of course there should be bloody soccer played, how in the name of Jasus is soccer in competition with GAA, OBVIOUSLY GAA is there because croker is its home. BUT its only fair that if i paid for it to be built, that i have the option of watching whatever the f*ck i want to watch.

I love soccer, i love GAA, i play BOTH, and believe both can live in harmony in Corke Park with GAA getting precedence on fixtures (bertie bowl will cause us nothing but tax nightmares) so here... (_!_) ....kiss my arse then go read the poll, and please... shove your opinions about (quote[Soccer muppets]) knowing nothing other than the (wouldnt use it to wipe my arse) mirror or (fair play to them for offering more cash to the FAI than that RTE shower of tightwads) Sky down the pub, up your OWN arse.

Yes, an excellent, intelligent, though-provoking post from Morpheus the sports lover. My post simply outlined both sides of the argument from the GAA's point of view. Your post might have actually proven my point about "moaning and whinging soccer heads".

Oh and if you're a student (like I was) and received a grant (like I did), does this mean that every taxpayer should be allowed to read/drink from the books/pints you buy in college next year?

how in the name of Jasus is soccer in competition with GAA

Oh dear...

deco

Kudos ReefBreak.....I'm tired of all this belly-aching by people bítching at the GAA for not letting those shower of shítes the FAI use their stadium.

fisifan01

The GAA call soccer a "competitor sport" yet they postpone football and hurling matches during the world cup. I sense a bit of hypocracy here!. The GAA once banned their members from "foreign games" even though cusack himself played football and cricket. Another example of double standards. Their reluctance to allow soccer to be played at croke park is a prime example of the remnants of the ban on their members from playing other sports. The GAA cannot continue to present themselves as an organisation that is intolerant of other sports. Dont get me wrong i play hurling myself. why cant us players have a say in the affairs of the organisation rather than having a bunch of old beauraucrats in their 50s who dont even play the sport dictate everything?

flyz

Originally posted by thegills
Surely the size of the pitch and the low crowds would make it unfeasible to play camogie and Ladies football at Croker. I was at yesterdays game and I thought to myself that it would be magnificent to watch the Euro2008 final there, with the hardcore Irish supporters in the Hill

Believe you me the crowds have picked up in recent years.
The main reason why there aren't the crowds at the ladies matches are because they're not publicised enough. they just pass by uncommented by anyone. If there was more focus on them then you'd get a hell of a better crowd.

Originally posted by ReefBreak


Most soccer muppets harpin' on about Croker know fúck-all about Gah and you seem to be no different... They do play camogie and ladies football in Croker. They've played everything from u-12 primary schools and up in Croke Park.

Oh please, get a grip on reality.

Really? have they?? You sure that's not u-12 boys??
Then why was I at an All Ireland Intermediate camogie final in a club pitch in Cork 2 years ago?
Why was I at the semi final of the Senior Camogie Championship in Limerick gaelic grounds last year?
Why did I go to see the Club All Ireland final of the Ladies football in Birr last year?

If you're going to criticise what I'm saying then you should make sure you know what you're on about bucko!
I may be a muppet but I'm not a soccer muppet, I've never been to a soccer match in my life!

Rolo Tomasi

No never. I never want to see soccer played in Croke Park.
If the FAI want a stadium, let the ba****ds build one using the money they'll get selling the TV rights to Sky.

!Disband the FAI!

Morpheus

Where the f*ck do u think the GAA got the money for Croke Park??? We paid for it, we have 1 national stadium now. we dont need to waste cash on another, regardless about what you say Croke Park does not belong to the GAA, it belongs to the people of Ireland, and it should be up to them whats played there.

Like I said, i play both sports locally, and as for soccer? Landsdowne Rd sucks, if the GAA wont share, the taxpayer will shell out, so regardless what half the GAA ONLY muckers (not all GAA fans now cant be takin the piss outta meself, only the narrow minded ones) here think...

Tiochfaidh ar lá.

Rolo Tomasi

What the fu*k? We have a population of over 4 million people and you think one world class stadium is enough.

The GAA never made any bones about what the stadium was going to be. They lobbyed the government for funds to upgrade Croke Park for the purposes of the GAA a\nd the government consented to this.

Now people are calling it a national stadium and demanding that it be opened up to all sports.

If the FAI weren't such an inept bunch of monkey's they could have had their own stadium 10 years ago

plastic membrane

We have one of the best stadiums in Europe. I think we should show it off. Imagine Ireland V England in the six nations, or a Champions League final in Dublin. I'd love to see those things, and we don't need another stadium to get them here.

Pigman

Some people are forgetting that the pitch at Croke Park is something in the region of 30 metres too long and 15 metres too wide for Soccer. Check out the Yokohama stadium where the W.C. final was staged to see how ridiculous it was to have the fans so far from the pitch. Plus I doubt Ireland could even fill Croker for anything other than glamour matches against Europes elite. Good luck getting 78,000 people to shell out for Ireland v Georgia and if for example the GAA add at 25% tariff the way the IRFU do with Lansdowne then it could even up being a financial loser for the FAI.

I'd like to see our national side play in a stadium that deserves them but unfortunately Croker isn't that stadium. You might as well be playing lawn bowls in Croker for the suitability it serves towards international soccer.

What is needed is the proposed national stadium with a capasity in the region of 55000-60000, good infrastructure surrounding it and zero financial obligations on the FAI for the use of it.

mike65

Originally posted by Pigman

What is needed is the proposed national stadium with a capasity in the region of 55000-60000, good infrastructure surrounding it and zero financial obligations on the FAI for the use of it.

ah, that would the Bertie Bowl then, methinks....but when?

Mike.

fisifan01

The GAA are more an elitist organisation than a sporting one. Can they just put their fundamentalist culture preserving views aside for this matter and wake up to the 21st Century. Why waste taxpayers money on another national stadium just because a bunch of sentimental beauraoucrats think its fundamentally wrong to allow soccer to be played on croker. Why not let all GAA members have a vote on it. im sure it would pass.

Bateman

No, because then the FAI would get lazy and NEVER build a stadium that irish soccer could call our own.

Helix

Originally posted by Pigman
Good luck getting 78,000 people to shell out for Ireland v Georgia

has anybody suggested that every match be played in croke park? im sure it would be much more acceptable to just hold the big games there, so that as many irish fans as possible get the chance to see their country playing.

lansdown road is grand for most matches, but when theres a really big one, what would be better than a cauldren of noise backin the boys in green?

Paul Davis

[In responce to your quote stating you can get grants for everything in Ireland , You can but you have to fight tooth and nail to get them however the GAA get Millions of everybodies euro thrown at them with no strings attachted when the IRFU and the FAI have to allow the GAA into Landsdown Road in order to recieve a fraction of the funding thrown at the GAA every time they whinge about it which is an obvious form of discrimination which in Irish law is ILLEGAL, maybe there should be a Tribuneral set up to investigate how there money is used as it is in other corperate bussines. Also the GAA get free labour to maintain THERE! pitches paid by us the public supplied by FAS. through the community employment scheme which is also not realised by a lot of the people out there which in reality there is a constant flow of cash which we the TAX PAYER have to foot the bill so I as a TAX PAYER should be entitled to watch any sport that represents their country played at Croke Park to avoid any other further burden on me, you and everybody out there who already find it hard to struggle on in this TAX SATURATED COUNTRY.] :mad: For fúcks sake, this has been debated at length on ths board about a million times. The arguments haven't changed.

First: You can get a grant to build all sorts of stuff in Ireland.
If you get a new home-owners grant, does that mean you have to let in all other tax-payers in the country into your gaff? Second: US Football was allowed into Corker because it isn't in direct competition with Gah - it's a simple business decision. Would Apple allow Microsoft to use it's facilities?

On the other hand, the Gah could make a lot of money by renting Croker out to the FAI. People are gonna watch soccer no matter where it's played, so the Gah could just go for it and use the money it makes to promote GAA around the country. Again, it's just a business decision.

However, When you have moaning and whinging soccer heads (who know nothing about sports beyond what they see on Sky down at the local pub), jealously complaining about how soccer isn't allowed in Croker, is it any wonder the Gah tell them to feck-off-out-of-it.

In fairness, the FAI have done the least moaning (they just want their own stadium) - the loudest complaining has come from the clueless armchair Mirror-reading types.

Most soccer muppets harpin' on about Croker know fúck-all about Gah and you seem to be no different... They do play camogie and ladies football in Croker. They've played everything from u-12 primary schools and up in Croke Park.

Oh please, get a grip on reality.[/QUOTE]